Wow, that was very emotional. Very sad. A very good story, though. But Donnie is on the right track and loving those kids and letting them know is really all he can do and all they need.
I used to be scared of ever having kids fearing I had done something that would make them turn out not quite right. I haven't had any, but I don't have that particular fear anymore. Mainly, because where I work, my employer has a very severely handicapped daughter, who is kind of blind, deaf, deformed, and cannot walk or talk and was born that way. When born, she was given about three months to live, if that. And, yet, we just celebrated her 30th birthday a couple weeks ago.

Yet she can play thumb wars, let us know when she wants stuff and go cruising around on her wheelchair. I don't know why I felt the need to say all that. But, I truly believe every person deserves a shot at living.

Well, ANYWAY-- it was a very good story, and I could truly feel Donatello's pain and grief along with Kaoru's. Oh, yeah, I really liked the names Donnie picked. Kaoru's were good, too. Good fic. I liked it. Very thought-provoking.

It is enough. No matter what sort of life the children have been born into, all they could want is to be loved and Donatello gives them that. While it makes me sad that so many of the children died, I see a lot of hope for the ones still living. This is a really great story and I was wondering if you were planning on doing a follow up peice to it. I feel that although you've told us the beginning of their lives, these children still have a lot more story to tell. If you are not planning on a sequel, then I would like to ask for permission to do one of my own. Please pm me and let me know if I may. Those kids started playing with the plot bunnies in my head last night and now they won't leave me alone.

already added to favs...what can I say about this...?...I've lately had a hard time, and your story started the waterworks...so..thanks I guess :)
Really though, great story, but poor Donnie and Kaoru...

wow, what morbid angsty little demon possessed you to write this. i'm not saying it's not good it's just a little disturbing. sad too.

I'm amazed at how touching this fic is. Wonderfully written. I wonder what happens afterwards, although I'm not sure if I can read more angst like this, it's too heartbreaking! Great job.

Awesome

Hauntingly beautiful. Of course I've been tagging at your heels and begging for new scraps of this fic pretty much since it first came into your head. And while I've loved every single email from you with those drunken subjects lines ("DON'S SCREWED UP ANGST BABIES LOL!!") there was something quite wonderful about reading the whole thing put together as a whole.

I know you were insecure about this OC character, but I think you did a fine job with her. No one could say that this piece was meant to showcase her, and she was absolutely unique, three-dimensional, and non-typical. The suicide scene -- I was expecting it, but it stopped my heart just the same. And YES, it redeemed Kaoru for me. I think I was really angry with her for shutting herself off like that and leaving Don to face everything alone. But this gave us some perspective -- as with Don himself, it was late in coming to me -- but I started to see that maybe Don's intense focus on the infants and their conditions shut HER out as well. He should have paid more attention, and recognized her coldness as intense grief and coping mechanisms -- mechanisms which were ultimately failing. As the 'doctor', no he can't fix everything. But he should have diagnosed his wife's postpartum depression. He owed her that much.

Compelling as it was, this was also such a strange and heavy piece that I often felt grateful whenever the rest of Don’s family showed up to make those brief cameos in his new life. Even these all mostly ran bittersweet, because there was never much they could do to solve anything or even really console him… and of course the thought of that growing gulf of distance between them just broke my heart to pieces every time you mentioned it. But in spite of all that, even their most futile attempts stood out like bright spots of color in this grey and dreary world you painted.

Your research on the science behind this tale is thorough and went beyond what I expect or even dare to hope for. I’m such a research nut myself, and so reading the work you put into the fic in this way was a real joy. I did notice that while you don’t shy from telling us about DNA and turtle egg mechanics, there was a lot more reservation when it came to the sappier aspects of child-bearing. This was also true or marital closeness between Don and Kaoru. Preferably gentle and subtle closeness mind you, but something more substantial than what little we witnessed of their love. At the same time, I totally understand why you might have had some serious trepidation in that regard. The truth is that perhaps many readers will even disagree with me here, and say the minimal focus on their love was refreshing. It’s a tough tight rope. Maybe we can excuse all this just by citing the logical, cool-tempered nature of both parents.

Combing back over this thing, I find that the only suggestions I have to make are all for things that I would have liked to have seen MORE of. Most especially, I would have liked more interaction with the children. I feel like too often they were kept at arm’s length, and that the story might have been even more powerful if we were given the opportunity to fall in love with them just a little bit more. I realize that this is a tragedy you are telling, and I would never want you to change that. I certainly am not calling for the insertion of cute widdle kiddie moments necessarily. But I do wonder if the terrible sadness here might have actually been enhanced if we could have built up more empathy for what was really keeping Don here, tied to this life. I’m not saying it was absent entirely, but throughout this fic my intrigue always peaked whenever the children were being described in ways that set them apart from one another. I want to know more about how they were different and special. The paragraph describing the albino girl as being Don’s mirror child, and her innocent-yet-wise fascination with the dying moth was just so gorgeous. I don’t know why, but the imagery there was incredibly powerful, and I suspect it played a large part in making me feel emotionally attached to what was going on.

You know I had to cover this one last detail before wrapping up, but… THANK YOU FOR NOT KILLING REMBRANT! XD Not that you left him in the greatest condition… There’s little to no hope for the poor guy in that ending, but I can’t bring myself to begrudge you for that. The ending was horrible and beautiful – in other words, perfectly fitting for the story and probably more realistic.

This fic definitely deserves to go straight to my favorites list. I almost feel like some congratulations are in order. You actually tackled ‘TMNT meets a turtle girl and makes babies with her” and pulled it off somehow, and it was brutal and fantastic and left a lasting emotional impact on me. Leaves a cold hollow place in the chest that I get to walk around for half the day with, and randomly think back on throughout the day, like… Jesus. Writing this must have been a huge challenge, and I hope it exceeds your somewhat grim expectations and receives some of the recognition it deserves from readers.

XOXO

Winny

My god, this tore at the very core of my heartstrings so deeply, the emotion simply flowed. I have never read a fic like this, and I highly doubt I will ever find one such as this again.

It was so heavy, so poetic and well written, so entirely believable from the very start. It is easy to make the idea of any of the guys having children too strange and unfathomable to comprehend. And yet, you have done it, and sent me reeling through the gentle tides of emotion that I have not sailed in quite some time. It was unique, heart wrenching, and so darkly magnificent in such a beautifully twisted way.

You truly have a talent. Bravo.

Much love,
Willowfly

I should be totally mean and leave you a 'This was good! Write morez!' review. :P

But I won't, because I'm in a good mood. And because you'd behead me if I did. XD

Something I really adore here is how much work you put into the story. The research you did, which you told me about, is apparent to anyone who didn't come in with said knowledge. It was all very interesting to take in as well! I had no idea that the heat of the sand determines the gender of the baby turtle. Was very interesting to learn.

Something I also enjoyed here was how you did well to give each of the surviving children their own personalities, as all little ones are apt to have. Even though it was short glimpses of them,you were able to convey key points of them in full.

I also liked how despite being a different species and following so many other traditions, Kaoru remained very much a mother in her grief, troubled that her children's suffering could have had something to do with her.

This is one of my new favorite one-shots. As always, you did an excellent job. :)

That was absolutely heartbreaking. You did a superb job at describing Donatello's thoughts and reactions. And you are right, I don't recall ever seeing a story explore the reality that they could have children born with deformities. It's sad, but definitely a possible outcome. Excellent job on this.

Whe! Sweet, sweet angst! Good use of OCs without going overboard. People tend to dislike OCs by instinct but you kept it going from Don's POV and centered on his reactions so it's all good. Sometimes I wondered how close he and Kaoru really were, since she seemed more like a phantom character than any kind of wife, but since mostly everybody was barely there except Don, it isn't as off-putting as I normally tend to believe.

Poor Don! Sweet little Rembrandt! Nice ending.

I wasn't exactly sure I'd like this when I read the summary, but I am so glad I read through it. Absolutely amazing. Just putting the basic plot side for a moment- You write wonderfully. I seriously am in love with this story, it's one of my new favorites. I had briefly thought about how lucky the guys were to have been mutated for the better, but I had never though to write a fic about it. I can say without a doubt, this really got to me. I feel so horrible for Don to having to go through that, I can only imagine how horrible that situation must be...

My mind is going so fast I can't even praise you correctly, but just know, this is fantastic, you did an amazing job.

...;__;...Sadness...Tears...POOR DONNIE! 'hugs' Poor turtle...Anyway...Great job.^^

"Rembrandt was fading like a watercolor painting in the rain..."
It was poetically heartbreaking. In fact, this whole story was poetically heartbreaking.
I've only read a few stories that address the possible problems that could arise due to the mutagen in the turtles DNA, and this is the best one. It's so realistic, it kinda hits home how bad it could be.
Yet, there's that ray of hope, in the surviving children. I love the way that you've built up the characters so serenly, that you feel as if they've been there the whole time. Kaoru included- she's such a well developed character for just a single story. In fact, the whole concept has been well developed, and brilliantly executed.
And i can't help but love Rembrandt... and i don't know why. Because i kind of feel like Don; would it have been better for him to die? Even as i type that, i feel myself cringing at the thought.
Oh, i've just been compeltely captured by this story. It's drawn me and it won't let go. It's almost as if it's actually happening...
It just shows how fantastic your writing is.
Kudos.
xx

This was quite a fic. I feel stunned after finishing this which means it really made me feel and think. You did a wonderful job handling such a subject and I adored every word. Truely, this fic is amazing and I can't fathom how you came up with such an idea but it worked so well. Beautiful job.